Local Catch Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Florida

Unfortunately, our experience was not so perfect. I was visiting Santa Rosa from Micanopy FL and I had family who had come from Ohio and Arkansas on vacation. My cousin has a legit service dog (who is clearly labeled with a harness "Service Dog Do Not Pet"). When we walked up to be seated the hostess immediately asked if we wanted a seat outside because of the dog. I said no, she is a service dog. She started pulling our menus and then suddenly said "excuse me I will be right back." When she returned she had told us that the dog was a "Health Code Hazard" but that they would allow her in. I corrected her stating that no, that is not correct but ok seat us inside. When they sat us inside, they sat us (table of 9) in the corner, farthest away from the kitchen. Which honestly would have been absolutely fine had the next issue not arose. We just got situated and the manager comes over to inform us that there will be a band playing and we need to move to the center table. So, we get up (all 9 of us) and start heading towards the center long table. As soon as the service dog came out from under the chair (which is EXACTLY what she is suppose to do, look invisible), the manager quickly changed his mind and moved us BACK to the exact same table we started at. Everything after that was wonderful, the waitress apologized for everything and was very good the rest of the meal. Our food was wonderful and the environment was calm. (We never saw a band by the way). I am absolutely appalled that a restaurant would have the nerve to tell us that "they will allow her in this time." Excuse me, you will allow EVERY service dog that comes to this establishment. I understand that some people are "posing" their pets as service dogs but my cousins dog is a legit perfectly trained service dog (NOT an ESA dog or a therapy dog, she is a SERVICE dog). I am sorry but ignorance of the laws are NOT an excuse, especially if you are of a high standing position in an establishment. Education: Businesses, nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments are required to allow service dogs under ADA service dog laws to accompany people with disabilities in any areas that are open to the public. They must be allowed in establishments that prepare or serve food regardless of local or state health codes prohibiting animals on the premises. ADA service dog laws will always overrule local laws.People with disabilities and their services are not to be isolated from other customers or patrons. They also may not be treated less favorably or be required to pay additional fees for their animals. Businesses that charge additional fees or deposits for pets – such as hotels – must waive these fees for...

Heard how fabulous this place was from the local tv ad show " food in santa rosa ". Decided to try it out. It must be popular for the relatively inexpensive prices because the food was, at best, edible. Most people have fried fish taste. Maybe the frying disguises the flaws. We tried the famous shrimp with bacon...or was that octopus for its texture with no other flavor to enhance the order. And 5 for 15.00! The dishes we ordered were a grilled grouper plate and the days special(grouper). Why is the special always something on the menu any way? The first thing was the quantity of the grouper serving - maybe 4 ounces...hardly a 29.00 value. The grouper was tough, like overcooked tuna. The NOLA sauce was no relief to the dryness.The cheese grits with the order were shaped like a baseball and were as dry as a ball leaving a pitchers hand... The dirty rice was overwhelmed with poultry seasoning...thought it was a bad turkey dressing. The fries arrived cold and appeared more baked than fried . They were overwhelmed with salt and other spices. Talking about spices,the only thing with any flavor were the fries. Bland was the word for the meal. If the chef is a new orleans resident or a trained chef, the beurre blanc sauce escaped his attention in class. It had absolutely no flavor and mimicked a chicken stock with a small amount of butter added. For those who rave about the food, try a real "Cajun" restaurant, and then tell us how great the food. The lady who does the tv local food show should be ashamed of herself naming this place a number 2 dining location. Those tv ad billings must make it hard to properly review a substandard dining location. . And she claimed to be a veteran, experienced food critic. Don't let the grits ball side order hit you; the ems would be called for the injury. Avoid this place for food!!! Really..some of the reviews"claim its the best food they've eaten...wonder what your standard is.Capn...

We had a party of 7 at 7:45 pm on a Tuesday night in July during the coronavirus pandemic. They asked that everyone from our party be there before they sat us. Once everyone showed up, we were seated right away.

Our waiter was Kevin and he was great. Our drinks were never empty. When my dad ordered the Veggie Tacos with a House Salad, Kevin made sure to mention the House Salad comes with bacon, which was really thoughtful, so that my dad (who is a vegetarian) could order it without bacon.

We got the Caribbean Shrimp Tacos ($15.99) with Candied Sweet Potatoes, Caribbean Shrimp Tacos with French Fries, Shrimp and Grits Tacos ($14.99) with French Fries, Veggie Tacos ($10.99) with House Salad, and Shrimp Po Boy ($13.99) with French Fries. The pineapple salsa and roasted red peppers on the Caribbean Shrimp Tacos were really tasty. The Candied Sweet Potatoes were disappointing. The sweet potatoes were a little hard and cold. The French Fries were definitely the move. They were perfectly seasoned, crispy, and hot. The Shrimp and Grits Tacos were the highlight. I’ve never had shrimp and grits in taco form, but they did it right. The Veggie Tacos were great and very original. The Shrimp Po Boy was okay. The tacos are definitely the way to go. Overall, we were satisfied with the food and the portions. No one left hungry and we didn’t have room for dessert.

Given that we’re in the middle of a pandemic, I must say that we were extremely disappointed with the lack of precautions in place. Out of all the employees we saw, only 3 were wearing masks. While our server was great, he wasn’t wearing a mask. Luckily we got a table on the terrace that was far enough from the other tables. They also have a patio, but we did not want to sit there, as it was crowded.

We would recommend Local Catch, but would really encourage them to require masks for the staff...